50 Things to do with Kids in St. Louis Before (or Even After) They Grow Up

I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Sadly, when you’ve lived somewhere for years and years (and years), it’s sometimes difficult to view your city as a tourist in order to avoid the “There’s nothing to do here!” vibe. I’m happy to say that my interest in St. Louis was recharged about five years ago after we welcomed our daughter Meredith into the family. Seriously? This town is simply bubbling with events and attractions for kids of any age. Here are some of the things we love to do.

1. Pick up a sandwich from Amighetti’s on the Hill (they have a great kids menu, too!), enjoy a picnic lunch in Forest Park, and spend the afternoon at the St. Louis Zoo! Admission is free!

2. Travel back to the good old days and enjoy a chocolate phosphate and a chili dog from Crown Candy.

3. Check out an Omnimax show at the St. Louis Science Center. While you’re there, take a few hours to explore the special exhibits–including the space show at the Planetarium!

4. Let your imagination go wild at the City Museum. The shorties will especially love the recently expanded Toddler Town, and because the museum is open until one in the morning on weekends, the adults can come back in the evening and play big people style.

7. Put on your big goofy foam fingers and head to Busch Stadium for a Cardinals game! (Be sure to stop by Gus’s Pretzels on the way to the stadium! They’ve been twisting pretzels for nearly 100 years!)

8. Head over to Fitz’s Root Beer for an amazingly fun lunch. If you get there early enough, you can request a table near the bottling line. That will keep the kids hypnotized until the food is delivered! (Added bonus: The kid meals are delivered in a mini car!)

10. If my grandma was still with us, she would to tell you to pack up the kids and head to Hodak’s for lunch. I think you’ll agree that they serve the best chicken in St. Louis, and have been doing so for nearly 50 years.

11. Take a tram ride through Grant’s Farm, where you’ll see free roaming bison, antelope, and zebra! While there, be sure to visit the Budweiser Clydesdale Stables, where up to 15 foals are born each year.

12. If you’re itching for a theme park, Six Flags is surprisingly clean! If it’s particularly hot, you might want to walk over to Hurricane Harbor and enjoy one of the country’s largest wave pools.

13. If, like me, you’re in love with the smell of old books, you need to make the trip to the Greater St. Louis Book Fair. Located in the West County Mall parking lot, the fair opens for four days in the spring. During that time, over a million books, CDs, and DVDs are available, and the funds raised provide services to promote education and literacy in the St. Louis Metropolitan area.

15. For an especially unique tour of the city, grab your bike at midnight and join in on the Moonlight Ramble. If your kids aren’t up for the twenty mile tour, a ten mile tour is available!

16. Learn all about the history of St. Louis at the Missouri History Museum. Be sure to check the schedule during the spring and summer months to see which local bands are performing (for free!) during the museum’s Twilight Tuesdays concert series!

17. Head on down to the riverfront and travel to the top of the Gateway Arch! Helicopter rides are available for those who want an even more elevated view of the city.

22. Take a short drive down to Kimmswick. While strolling around this lovely town, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the many antique shops and historic buildings. (Be sure to eat a slice of pie or two at the famous Blue Owl!) Check out the Kimmswick Event Schedule. It seems like there’s always something going on. (My favorite is the Apple Butter Festival. I’m a sucker for apple butter. On wheat toast. Good God.)

25. Are you looking for something safe to do with your family on New Years Eve? Plan on attending First Night Saint Louis–the visual and performing art festival that has been helping families ring in the new year since 1992!

26. Welcome the holiday season by driving through the Way of Lights. If you’re feeling particularly brave, you might want to take a ride on a camel! (If not, you can always pet a donkey at the petting zoo!) This light exhibit has been entertaining my family since I was a kid. (And that was a long time ago.)

29. You’re not a true St. Louisan unless you’ve stood in line for a Ted Drewes frozen custard. (If you’re one of those people who never know what to order, get the Dutchman Delight Concrete. Chocolate, butterscotch, pecans… You’ll be thanking me for this recommendation.)

30. Check out Purina Farms, where visitors can milk a cow, watch a canine competition, or play in a hay loft!

31. St. Louis is proud to have its own one-ring European circus! Circus Flora made St. Louis its home in 1987, and the big top shows take place in June.

32. The St. Louis Jazz and Heritage Festival is one of my family’s favorite events. Good food, great music, and a musical petting zoo for the kids. Who could ask for anything more?

33. Are you in the mood for some exploration? You can pan for gold, dig for fossils, or take a riverboat ride while visiting Meramec Caverns.

34. The Wolf Sanctuary is an amazing place dedicated to the preservation of rare and endangered wolves. Be sure to call ahead to take the 1/2 mile walking tour, as the sanctuary closes during the breeding season.

35. See a show at America’s largest and oldest outdoor theater–The Muny. If you’re not in the mood to pay for premium seats, the theater offers 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows of the theater. (The free seats are available on a first come, first served basis, so get there early!)

45. The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival provides professional and free Shakespeare performances outdoors! If you arrive early to the show, you’ll be entertained by fire eating clowns, jugglers, and various other strolling performers.

46. Visit an ancient Indian civilization at Cahokia Mounds! Public tours are available in June, July, and August.

47. There’s nothing quite like a good tailgate party before a St. Louis Rams game!

48. The Museum of Transportation showcases steam, diesel, and electric locomotives, as well as automobiles, streetcars, and aircraft. Their Creation Station is a big hit with kids ages five and under.

49. Pick peaches, strawberries, blackberries, apples, or pumpkins at one of Eckert’s Country Farms. You can even cut your own Christmas tree at Eckert’s during the holiday season!

33 Responses to “50 Things to do with Kids in St. Louis Before (or Even After) They Grow Up”

You might also try Opera Theatre of St. Louis, in at the college (can’t remember the name!) in Webster Groves. They perform in a small theater – about 900 seats, and the stage is thrust, meaning the seating surrounds 3/4 of the stage – the close seats are REALLY close. Also, they do everything in English and make a real effort to be sure it’s understandable, as well as dramatically engaging. Probably not for small children, but when I performed there, we often had kids from 8 or so, on up. For a whole evening, pack a picnic, and have a picnic supper beforehand. A truly lovely experience.

Rock on FP!
When business associates visit, I take them to neighborhood places (Hill, Loop, South Grand, Soulard, etc) and they are always blown away by the architecture and the food.
We’ve got a good thing going in the ‘Loo! thanks for doing such a great job showcasing it!

What a great list. Don’t we live in a magnificent city? We tried to mark one or two of these off our list on Father’s Day by booking a Sunday brunch cruise on a riverboat to Kimmswick. Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled due to the flooded Mississippi.

I just became familiar with the very cool kids programs from Go! St. Louis (gostlouis.org) — this group puts on most of the big running events in St. Louis, but the revenue from the races supports their mission to provide healthy lifestyle habit events for kids throughout the year. Truly awesome.

This was great! I am a native of St. Louis but have lived in So. California for over 13 years. I sure miss my city! Did you mention Ted Drews or Imo’s Pizza? I will be going back this summer to visit and taking the kids! We can’t wait! Thanks again – this is a great list! You really showcase a lot of wonderful things to do in St. Louis!

I took my 5 year old to the Mo. Botanical Garden today. WOW! It is stunningly beautiful and the Children’s Garden provided HOURS of fun. It is such a treasure for our city. The best part, because I’m a STL county resident, it was only $7.00 for the 2 of us! AWESOME!

Two Aussies travelling Route 66 found your beautiful Arch and your wonderful museum that’s all we had time for before we had to move one. But St Louis is high on our return list. One day but at least we have the memories

What about Rombach’s farm in Chesterfield (fort for kids to play in since 1970’s also the Smokehouse on the outer road there. Near Purina Farms is the Arboretum (Gray Summit) and just sitting on the riverfront during 4th of July is awesome! Also Creve Coeur lake is very peaceful with waterfall and picnics. Mastodon state park is always cool! Hannibal is just north of St Louis, Chain of Rocks Bridge. Alton Lock and Dam etc . I really miss St. Louis!!!!!

Thank you so much for writing this article!!! I’ve been living in New Orleans for the last 5 years (away from St. Louis for 9 years) and we’re moving back to St. Louis next summer to be closer to family now that we have our daughter. The number one thing I’m going to miss about New Orleans is ALL the amazing things to do with kids, but this article just convinced me it will be happening in St. Louis, too!

The subtraction I suggest is the Pirate Festival which is actually not family oriented and probly not suitable for kids IMHO. YMMV, but try attending the Renaissance Faire first and see what you think about it. Then realize the the Pirate fest is several clicks farther along the grown-up scale.

The Saint Louis Art Museum offers a free family program every Sunday from 1-4. You can drop in at any time in that window. The program is year-round! You can also come to family workshops with your kids on Saturdays. They are $10 per person (less for members) and are targeted to certain ages, so you should check the Museum’s calendar and pre-register for these.

Don’t forget swing around fun town in fenton, incredible pizza company in south county, ronnies 20 cine in south county, the drive in theater in Belleville, bounce u in chesterfield, monkey joes in Crestwood, swimming at the meramec river, moolah shrine circus in st Charles, the st Louis car show at Americas center and the petting zoo at suson park in south county…. There’s so much to do in st Louis…

Do not go to Union Station. There is nothing left inside the mall area and even the food court is dying! There is a Hard Rock Cafe in the parking lot. A group I was with was stalked by a man in this mall. Felt very unsafe even with the security guards that are wondering around. This was just in January 2014.